7 Differences Between Amateur and Professional Bloggers

Most people begin life as an amateur blogger, but not everybody stays there. Some people step up, making their blog more attractive and interesting, and, eventually, profit-making.

The other people languish somewhere not far from where they started, existing in a space that is half-interested, half-uninterested. It’s very easy to get left behind in 2018. The quality of the blogs is high, and if you’re not taking steps to make yours better and better over time, then it won’t be long before your visitor numbers begin to drop. But what separates the bloggers who are going places and the ones who are staying still? It’s all in the professionalism. Below, we take a look at seven core differences between bloggers who conduct themselves and their business in a professional manner, and those that don’t.

Time and Effort

You can build anything of value without putting in the time and effort. As always, effort will always trump talent. You could be the most gifted blogger in the world, capable of drawing in and engaging your visitors on any topic, but if you’re not writing, or putting the time into the other aspects of your website, then there’s only so far you can get. For those willing to learn, the internet will be a mine of information. There are many excellent bloggers who talk about the art of their craft. Make a habit of keeping up with the latest developments and guidance, and you’ll never be left too far behind. If you don’t want to do that, then you could act like the amateur bloggers, and spend your evenings watching television shows on topics to do with everything except blogging. Your core talent will be taken much further if you’re willing to put the time into improving.

Personal Posts

Now, don’t get us wrong: there is a time for personal posts. If you’re running a blog that deals with, say, pregnancy, and you’ve been pregnant before, then it makes sense to intersperse your posts with the occasional personal post. There are also blogs who only post personal posts; say, about their family trip to Disneyland, what they've been up to that week and so on. There’s nothing wrong with those posts, of course, but they’re not in the traditional business professionalism vein. If you want to run your blog as a business, then the focus needs to generally be on the readers, not you. Unless your life is inherently fascinating, then a blog that’s too introspective won’t have much value to others out there. And a pretty important rule of business is to focus on your customer’s needs and wants.

Website Layout

People are pretty quick to judge, which is, in most cases, a bad thing. But when it comes to the online world, it’s not all that bad; it’s actually pretty handy. You can get a feel for a good or bad website within two seconds of landing on the home page. People have expectations of what professionalism looks like, and if it’s obvious that your site is lagging in one department or another, then there’ll jump to the conclusion that you might not be happy with. So what does a professional website look like? It’s clean and clear, to begin with, and simple, which means it’s easy to navigate.

Looking Forward

It takes time to get a website into tip-top shape, but alas, once it’s done, a blog that wants to be at the forefront of the blogging world can’t just sit back and admire their work. They’re forever tweaking and improving, and all-around moving forward with the times. If you want to make your blog more professional, make a habit of seeing the design updates of the biggest websites: they’re usually responsible for sweeping in the big changes that other websites eventually follow. You can tell pretty quickly when a website hasn’t been updated in years.

Contact Information and Communication

A blog lives in the digital world, but if it’s being run as a business, then it also needs to have a real-life existence too. Take a look at the world’s most influential blogs, and you’ll see that they go far beyond the bare minimum expected of a website when it comes to their ‘contact us’ page (which is usually just an email). Professional outfits also list a contact phone number, and a virtual physical address. How many people use these services is beside the point: by having them available, they’re showing themselves to be trustworthy, not to mention ambitious. They also treat their communications with their readers as a priority. Email an amateur blog, and you’ll be lucky to get a reply within a couple of weeks; they’re not checking. The professional blogs reply promptly, and include a professional signature, among other things.

Checking the Content

If mistakes and typos are going to find their way into print books, then they’re going to exist on the internet. You can find errors on every website if you look hard enough. But if those mistakes are widespread or glaringly obvious, then there’s an issue. A professional blog puts their text under the microscope by using external websites to check for errors (Microsoft Word and Google Docs only go so far).

Pushing the Game Forward

The biggest difference between amateur and professional blogs, however, is in mindset. An amateur blog keeps up with the trends. A professional blog establishes them. We’re in a golden age, when the internet is still in flux (though less so than in the past). The rules on blogging aren’t yet set. They can be written by whoever writes them best.

Final Thoughts

It’s easier to run on autopilot when you’re a blogger. But like most everything else in life, if you’re taking the easy route, you can’t expect to get anywhere interesting. It takes time to build something of value, and if you don’t have the right attitude to begin with, then there’s only so far you can get. Your blog is your business; treat it seriously.